Chennai: The Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department will soon introduce its own ranking system for state higher education institutions, similar to the Union Education Ministry's National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).

The state-level ranking, tentatively named State Institutional Ranking Framework (SIRF), will be prepared and published within the next six months by the State Higher Education Council at an estimated cost of ₹75 lakh.

The framework will assess colleges across various categories, including arts and science, engineering, medical, law, and others. Evaluation parameters have been formulated and sent to NIRF coordinators in colleges for feedback.

A meeting of coordinators from 138 colleges affiliated with the University of Madras will be held on the university campus on the 25th to review the evaluation process. Similar sessions will be conducted at other universities before finalizing the framework.

Officials said the ranking will help students make informed choices while seeking admission in the next academic year.